Dain af Niohoggr
by GW Katrina
Summary: In a world of kings and demons, an ancient evil has been awake, and now an immortal named Cloud must gather up his mercenary group and help deal with it. Mercverse AU, slash, implied twincest, and a strange mix of modern and feudal systems.
1. Spell

First off, for those of you who have never read the Mercverse AU of Final Fantasy VII, here's a few details.

Cloud is immortal. Zack isn't fully human. Vincent and Chaos are half-demon twins. Sephiroth is a mage adept.

That is the basis of Mercverse. Below are more details, which are useful, but not absolutely required to know.

It's a feudal system, with kings and princes, and noble families. Thousands of years before this story, there was a great war, where the demons, lead by Jenova and her three sons, battled with the Cetra and humans. Jenova was sealed away, and her sons were slowly hunted down and killed. Sometime after all of this, the Cetra vanished, magic hiding the path they took, though a few were still scattered around, or have reappeared throughout the ages.

Cloud Strife was born during that time frame. His father is unknown, and his mother would never speak of the man.

He's been alive ever since. Death never did seem to take, and he has lived through the centuries, watching as part of his family line went on to become the Shinras, the royal family of the country.

Currently, he has a pack of people that he enjoys spending time with.

Zack Strife-Cloud's heir, someone who has just enough demon blood in his system to pull off some impressive actions. He was a street kid until found by Cloud, and was adopted as a ward before being made his heir. Given Cloud is rather immortal, Zack just uses Court time to annoy the other nobles and have fun. He and Cloud were the first two of the current mercenary group that Cloud runs.

Vincent and Chaos Valentine: A set of half-demon twins. Something of a rarity, even with all the humans and demons in this world. While both can shapeshift, Vincent prefers to stay in his human form, while Chaos is more likely to follow his demon side.

Sephiroth: A mage who Cloud has known for a few years now, and the last to join the group. He mostly did it to make Zack stop pestering him, but has enjoyed his time here.

Outside of the people who are the core of his group, there are others, such as Tifa, Aeris, and Yuffie. He has a variety of connections, given how long he has been alive, and the jobs he has taken up doing over the years.

Mercverse focuses primarily around this group of people, and more can be found on Livejournal and Insanejournal under the community/asylum name of Mercverse. There, various people have written in the universe, adding their own touches and playing with the ideas. Feel free to join in, though I no longer visit the LJ version.

**Dain af Niohoggr**

Under the light of the blood red moon, the group of people who really had no right to be there continued to chant and move, each gesture and word particularly placed to have the most effect. While not the most regular of magical rituals, the creator of this one had been very precise on what he had wanted. Each detail had to be perfect in order to make this spell work.

So much work had gone into the ritual these people were working their way through, clothed in the pale, almost sterile robes as they moved over the dust.

No plants grew here, and they had to move carefully, or else someone would choke on the stirred up earth, and that would be something bad. It would have been easier if the earth was covered in plants, or pavement. But nothing was here, all the life forever killed in this area, going to feed a truly massive spell that had been going for millennia. So it would take a lot of focus to keep the magic of this ritual from fading into that steady, unending pull to feed the older spell.

Not that this ritual was going to do what they thought it would, Hojo thought as he watched them from a distance. Oh, no.

The fools thought they were doing a magical ritual that would gain them power over all demons. Power to make them do as the group wished.

Such pitiful beings, to think so small. In a way, Hojo wished that he wasn't the only one to think in such a grand way. Or that he had been born of a species with a longer life span. To have such great thoughts and to be limited to a single human lifetime.... Sometimes, the world was even less just than normal. If there was any true justice, he would live for many long years, bringing forth greater and greater achievements.

Watching, Hojo found his head bobbing in time with the chanting and forced himself to stop. For such a powerful force, magic was so messy sometimes. It required the most obscure things in order to work properly. But it was a power that he had focused on since he was young. Messy, but he had found ways to make it cleaner, more exact.

Building up to this moment. This ritual. One he had been working on for years now. His son had been a mere step along this path, and now, after years of work and manipulating that fool of a king, Hojo was almost there.

It had been difficult to find the details of the ritual. There had been a great deal of digging, of pouring through rotting, filthy books, of putting the puzzle pieces together in order to get the whole of it.

Once he had done that, it had taken years more of planning and preparation, always ready for when the right moment came.

How did one find a blood red moon, for instance? Or ring it with ice?

Hojo found he enjoyed riddles, puzzles. They were simple far too often, but the challenging ones, oh, those were well worth the hunt to find them.

And there was no greater puzzle than this spell.

When the volcano to the west had erupted, he had watched. Watched as the ash filled the sky, and the moon slowly darkened, and turned red. It came in time with a cold front, with ice high in the sky. And so the moonlight made a ring of ice around the moon itself.

Science had brought him the answer. It solved so many of the other mysteries as well.

Like the skull of the man drowned on air. Someone who suffocated on foul air could fill that one.

Or the eyes of frogs that flew. Really. That one was just too easy. The ancients who set this spell must have had very low opinions of the ones who came after.

The most puzzling of the riddles was how to do the spell itself. The one casting -must- know what they were casting.

Still smug over that, Hojo watched as the movements became more frantic, words becoming unintelligible.

That was fine. They had done the part they needed.

Raising his own hands, he cast, and the people began to scream as words burned onto their skin. They really should have checked their robes better.

As suddenly as the people began to scream, they stopped, and for a moment, he wondered if the spell had failed.

Then power flared up, painting the area in a blinding white light, so bright that Hojo had to cover his face. Even then, it was almost painful against his closed and shielded eyes, a palpable force against his skin. So much magical power that it was almost unimaginable.

Just as suddenly as it arrived, it vanished. No, not vanished. He could feel it pulling back, sliding over his skin, and he took a step forward before he was able to control himself.

Slowly, carefully, he opened his eyes and lowered his arm, ready to cover his eyes again if needed. He had too many important things to do to risk being blinded.

In the spot that the people had been holding their ritual, there were only scorch marks. Nothing of them remained, not even the altar that they had put together under Hojo's careful observation.

It was a single white dot in the air at first. He almost didn't notice it.

Then the black strands began to creep out from it, looking like cracks in the air itself. Bit by bit, the scene in front of him seemed to flake away, leaving a bright, blinding light behind it.

With a roar, the world exploded into white light again. Unable to hide from it quick enough, Hojo had to wait, blinking his eyes to clear them of the haze. When his vision cleared, the man's eyes went wide.

Before him, the woman who stood where the altar had been watched him with red-violet eyes.

He had succeeded.

"Yes. You did."

Hojo bowed, as he had never bowed to any other being, and truly meant it.

He had freed her.

It had begun.


	2. Spar

**Dain af Niohoggr**

Right now, all Cloud wanted to do was enjoy his nice, warm bed.

The warm part was being provided by Sephiroth, who was also trying to sleep. The day before had been a long, and these two in particular of the pack liked to linger together. Not to mention that they had been enjoying some alone time last night after the research had been done. This had lead to both of them having a late night, and Cloud really wanted to enjoy his sleep. From the grumbles by him, Sephiroth did as well.

However, it was a little hard to sleep when he could hear the others playing in the other room. At least Zack and Chaos.

It sounded as if they were trying to be quiet, but when two full grown men were wrestling around, especially people like Zack and Chaos, it got a little loud. There was the occasional murmur from Vincent, sounding like he was trying to get the pair to calm down.

Cloud wished the man would succeed, but he highly doubted it. He had known Zack since the boy was six. Calm was not really a state of being for him. Add him with Chaos, who was the more energetic of the twins, and it was just a recipe for noise and probable destruction. Or sex. Possibly all three. In any case, it was havoc on anyone's attempt to sleep.

Pushing himself out of bed, and rolling his eyes at Sephiroth as he just pulled Cloud's pillow over his head, the blond went to give the noisemakers a few choice comments. Just because Zack could and regularly did run on four or five hours of sleep, didn't mean Cloud wanted to.

Grabbing a robe, pulling it on even as he walked out the door, he followed the sounds of the horseplay, muttering. It wasn't as if they were far, or else he wouldn't have been able to hear Vincent.

They were two rooms over, Vincent settled quite comfortably on a chair as he held a book in his hands. The man wasn't even looking at Zack or Chaos, his red eyes focused on the pages. He did glance up when Cloud came to a stop in the doorway. "I told you that the pair of you were too loud." He sighed, looking at the other two.

Looking up as best he could, head currently caught in a headlock, Zack gave Cloud an innocent smile. "What has you up so early? It's not even light out."

"Really?" A frown. "I can't even imagine why I would be up before the crack of dawn. Maybe it was the sound of idiots being loud." His frown deepened. "You know Seph and I were up late last night doing that research so that -you- might not end up being poisoned. Again."

That got a rather contrite look from Zack, who fidgeted in Chaos's hold. "I didn't mean to get bitten by that thing. Did you guys figure out what it was?"

"And you smell like you and Seph got up to a few other things last night besides research." That was totally Chaos's "I'm laughing at you" tone of voice. Cloud just scowled more.

"Maybe, but a majority of the night was spent....."

What he was about to say was gone as something, magically white-hot and powerful slammed through him. From the howls that the half demons gave, even as Cloud felt himself falling, he wasn't the only one affected.

He didn't have any idea what this was, but it wasn't good.

Everything went black.

///

Heartbeat throbbing behind his eyes, Zack grimaced, catching himself with one hand, the other pressed tight between his eyes. He held still, even though he could hear the others drop around him. Couldn't move. If he did, he was sure he would throw up.

There was a sound of distress from the other room as well, and it took all of Zack's willpower to not go looking for whatever was hurting his family like this. But first he had to wait for it to end, then he could go check on them.

Finally, the sensation faded, leaving behind a headache which brought tears to his eyes. Still, he had fought through worse, and Zack forced himself up to his feet. First to be checked on was Chaos, who was slumped next to him. The half-demon blinked at him, awake. That made something relax, but his pupils were pinpoints, and Zack touched the man's cheek. Colder than expected. Shock? "I'll be right back," he said, nodding absently. "Let me check the others."

By the time he got to him, Vincent was already starting to move, tucking his head down, looking pasty and as ready to throw up as Zack felt. "Stay," Zack said after a moment, pulling an blanket off the back of the chair, and draping in on Vincent. A second blanket went on Chaos, then Zack went to check on Cloud. The immortal was out cold, which just made him curse. Checking his pulse, it was good, though Cloud felt like he was probably shocky as well.

Not sure what was going on, Zack looked at Vincent, who was moving to sit next to Chaos. Feeling better the more he moved, Zack collected Cloud, and then set him down to the others. "Gotta go check Seph. Be right back."

"All right." It was a low mumble, but it was talking, and it was from Chaos, which made Zack relax a little. They were already starting to get their color back. Seemed like whatever happened, they were starting to recover. Good.

Using a hand on the wall, just in case his balance tried to go odd again, Zack made his way to Cloud's bedroom. Seph would be in there, and he hadn't called out to let them know that he was all right. Which wasn't a good sign.

Though the sound of vomiting was easy enough to hear as Zack got closer. As did the sound of cursing. When Zack opened the door, he found himself the focus of narrowed cat eyes.

"What happened?" snarled Seph quietly, holding himself like he hurt all over.

"Don't know," Zack said, moving to sit on the bed beside where Seph was slumped on the floor. "Others are in the other room. Chaos and Vincent are awake, if shocky. Cloud is out."

"It was magic. What kind, I don't know. Never felt anything like it." He shook his head faintly, looking as if he immediately regretted it.

Zack offered a hand. "Let's get you to the bathroom so you can wash out your mouth, and then join the others. We can hash out some ideas after I look at Cloud again."

Taking the hand, Sephiroth levered himself up, leaning against the dark haired man. Hugging him, Zack sighed.

It was going to be a long day.

///

After everyone was awake again, though there had been a bit of a wait for Cloud, the five of them settled down, Zack bustling around a bit to make sure that the others all had something to drink and blankets. Seemed having everyone else drop had triggered off that paranoid protective streak of his. It was the one remnant of having lost one family already that none of the pack had ever been able to work out of his system. He was a protective brat, but Sephiroth and the others couldn't find it in their hearts to deny him.

So once everyone had settled, Zack included, Sephiroth absently fiddled with the drink the man had forced onto him.

"I don't recall anything like that," was the first, slow, hesitant words from Cloud. Which could mean a lot of things.

"No offense, Spike, but your memory is notoriously foggy at times." Of course it would be Zack who pointed it out, but he did have a point, and it was something that Cloud was nodding to as well.

"That is very true. Still, that is something that is rather obvious. It.... Whatever it was, it was powerful."

Vincent shifted, hand resting on the back of Chaos's neck. "It felt similar to when Father undid the final seals holding Mother to this plane when we were old enough. But it was nothing near that strong." He paused, focus distant. "I don't know of -anything- that strong."

That was the problem. Aeris had already called once, frantic and near hysterical as she had babbled at Zack, her words unclear and more than a little slurred. Worried, Zack had made Vincent call Tifa, and sent the woman to check on his girlfriend. Tifa had reported back that Aeris was sleeping now, but that the half-Cetra wasn't the only one who had felt something outside of them. It was all over. Even people who didn't have any magic in their blood had felt it.

So far, they didn't know much. The pre-dawn time had made it so news was going slow, but already the television was reporting accidents and deaths as people had momentarily been blinded, or worse, while driving, working, or just walking in the wrong spot when they collapsed. And that was just the first reports. Who knew what was going to happen when people started moving and calling for help?

"We need more information," Chaos said, growling faintly. He was the much more active twin, and having to wait for information went against his grain. Still, he wasn't dumb, even if people took him for it, and he knew that in this case, action had to wait. They needed details. Especially since -nobody- knew what this was.

Cloud was nodding. "I'm going to start calling in for favors. We need as many details as we can get. Because this shouldn't be possible." He ran his hands through his hair, making it spike up even more. It didn't take much for it to look like he had been mauled by a groom-happy chocobo. "I can't ever recall of magic so strong that non-magic users felt it. Not on the sort of level we're seeing it reported already."

"Aeris was panicked," Zack added slowly, expression a bit blank as he focused on his thoughts. "I've never heard her like that. Not even when the Turks tried to snag her that time. She was going on about something being loose and how bad it was." He shook his head, focusing on them again. "When I tried to find out what she meant, she didn't know. Said it was something about her dreams." He absently mimicked Cloud's gesture, hand pushing hair out of his face. "She just kept going on about how 'they' were frantic." A grimace. "I'm going to go talk to her later, once she's had a chance to get some more rest. She took it as bad as you did, Cloud. At least, that's how it seems."

"I have a few contacts I can try asking as well." Sephiroth looked to Vincent and Chaos. "Maybe you should contact your family. Even if they don't know, they study a completely different form of magic than I do. And we know that Cloud can't be trusted with magic at all." He caught the throw pillow that was living up to its name as Cloud tossed it at him. "And Zack here barely uses magic at all. If he focuses on Aeris, and we go the different magic routes, we might be able to get a few more ideas."

It was easy for Sephiroth to see that the others were just as uneasy as he was. Which was something else to worry about. Whatever had caused this flash of power, it was strong. Massively strong.

-Wartime- strong.

There had been no great magic wars since the Great Demon herself had been sealed and her children slain. The devastation left behind from that had been too great for anyone to chance it again. Minor magics during combat was something different from magics that could turn entire countries to dust.

Sephiroth didn't know if this was that strong, but it was stronger than any single spell he had ever felt.

Something bad was coming, and he wished that he knew what it was.


	3. Balance

Sipping at the tea that Tifa had sworn came from Cloud originally as a gift after the younger woman had complained about not being able to sleep in Midgar, Aeris rubbed her eyes. It had been an uneasy few hours.

She had been sound asleep for only a few hours, having gotten off her job late. But then...everything had gone mad. Suddenly, there were voices, screams in her head, twisted faces and flailing limbs, all jumbled around in her dreams. Caught in it, unable to wake up, unable to push the voices away, she had been trapped in what had seemed like an eternity of gibbering voices she didn't understand. None of them made sense, and she was smothering in a blanket of sheer panic when she was finally able to snap awake.

For a long moment, she had scrambled, and then....something had slammed into her. The voices rose up again into gibbering screams, but at least this time, they were cut off by merciful blackness.

When she woke up, Aeris had groped for her phone, shaking and crying. She didn't know what was going on, but she knew it wasn't over. With trembling hands, she hit Zack's number.

Turned out that she wasn't the only one who had been struck by this, and he asked if she had wanted him to come get her. Hearing someone vomiting in the background, her own stomach roiling at the mere idea of being close to someone who was that sick, Aeris told him that she would be okay. But she did feel better hearing his voice, hearing his concern for her.

Though she really should have expected it when Tifa showed up. By now, she should have been aware of the protective streak that Zack had. Which was going to be a good thing when she finally settled down enough to want kids. He would be a good daddy.

But at the moment, there wasn't any little children to focus Zack's attention on at the moment, and so she and his pack got to bear the brunt of his parenting instinct. Which were probably in overdrive at the moment.

Still, she had Tifa here now, and they talked. It was soothing to have someone else, alive and solid, to work through ideas of what might have happened.

"You should try sleeping more," the other said, eventually. Tifa was looking rather tired herself, as her hours were much like Aeris's, and neither of them had gotten much sleep before being woken up. "Cloud and the others will call us and let us know what they figure out." She popped her knuckles. "They'd better, at least. In any case, sleep some more. I'm going to stretch out on your couch and try to get some sleep myself."

Nodding, Aeris had gone to lay back down. In the early dawn light, everything pale and washed out, she heard the woman moving around, trying to get comfortable on Aeris's couch. Not the most comfortable bit of furniture, but it was good enough for most people. And it wasn't like Tifa hadn't crashed on it before.

Soon, things went quiet. And then Aeris dropped off herself.

She found herself back in the dreams. Still unable to understand what the people were trying to say, she struggled to make them understand her. It didn't seem to be working, either.

Covering her ears, Aeris tried to ignore them. Instead of blocking them out, however, it seemed like it just made the dissonant sounds jar harder into her ears. Nor did they get any clearer as she slept.

Drowning in voices and images, Aeris just struggled to rest.

///

When she woke up again, Aeris found she didn't feel very rested at all. Rather, she was reminded of her last hangover, and that wasn't a fun memory at all.

Later, when Zack came to visit, he did comment about the circles under her eyes, hugging her tight as he did. This time, there was no escape, and Aeris had to smile faintly as he fussed over her. Not that she minded. Sometimes, a girl just wanted to be fussed over, and to have someone else take care of her.

This was one of those times, though Aeris really didn't mean to nap on Zack like she did. But his chest made a very good pillow, especially when she could hear his heartbeat. It was a nice, soothing sound.

The dreams came back, though they were muted by the sound of the heart under her ear. Something in the back of her mind noted that, and she focused on the thump-thump.

Sleeping far later than she had planned, Aeris started awake as Zack shifted under her. From the look on his face, he had gone to sleep as well.

There was more fussing, and Aeris found herself smiling as she leaned on the doorway into her kitchen, watching Zack cook. He was rubbish at desserts, but the man could actually put together a meal if he wanted to. Most of the time, he just ordered out, but it was...nice to watch him cook her food.

Glancing at the time, Aeris shook her head. "I have to go to work. Lock up when you leave, all right?"

"Hey!" he said, tone indignant as she kissed his cheek, then headed out the door.

It was a dirty trick, but the sound of his voice had her laughing as she headed to her job.

The night went on, the talk mostly on what had happened that morning, but Aeris felt better now than she had all day. The nap had helped greatly. Which must have been obvious, because when Tifa invited her back to Tifa's place to crash the night, Aeris was actually able to decline. If she still had looked bad, she knew there was no way that her friend would have let her off the hook that easily.

Her house still smelled of tasty things, and she found that Zack had left the crockpot simmering, more food packed into her fridge. Mmm, it was nice having a rich boyfriend.

Feeling much better than when she had gotten up this morning, Aeris ate, then went to sleep.

///

_Faces melting, footprints in dust that seem to scorch the very ground. Life dying, and then an explosion of power, colored through with streaks of green that she -knew- at one point had been a living being._

_More jibbering, words she couldn't understand as the voices wailed._

_She was coming._

Panting, Aeris bolted upright. Again. It happened again.

"That's it. You are going to talk. Now."

The voice startled her, and then Aeris remembered that she was staying with Tifa. A week had passed since these nightmares had started. Zack and the others had all stopped by and checked on her, but whenever she was alone, when she slept, she was caught in the dreams again. It hadn't taken too long before Tifa told, not asked, -told- Aeris that she would be staying with the younger woman. And Tifa didn't take no for an answer.

Between Tifa's stubbornness, and the fact that it really seemed to help calm down Zack if she was staying with a friend, Aeris had finally given in. So now she was camped out on Tifa's couch, which was a lot more comfortable than Aeris's.

"It's noth...."

Tifa held up a hand. "If that word is "nothing", I'm going to do the worst thing imaginable. I'm going to tell Zack that you are too afraid to go to sleep, and didn't want to bother him with it."

Staring at the woman, jaw dropped, Aeris couldn't believe her ears. That was the blackest sort of blackmail. "You wouldn't."

"I would. I can find another place to go. -You-, on the other hand, would be forced to deal with a hurt, and trying to hide it, Zack. Who would be fussing even more over you."

Yeah, he was going to be an excellent father when they got that far. But it didn't mean Aeris wanted it to be used against -her-.

"Fine. Evil." A scowl at Tifa, which was ignored. "I've been having these dreams. Nightmares. Something is roaming, and it's sucking the life out of things. Just...wasted skeletons and withered plants are all that is left behind, other than the burned out earth." A shiver. "And there are these voices....They never stop, but I can't understand them." Hands kneading absently at the blanket, Aeris tried to explain.

"It's like they want to tell me something, but we can't seem to understand each other. They feel so old, and I can almost make out words." A shiver. "And today, I finally did make out something."

Looking at her with narrowed eyes, Tifa was listening hard. "What did you make out?"

"She is coming." And Aeris was clue less on what that meant.

"You said burned earth? And dead things?"

Not the question she was expecting, and Aeris nodded. That got a grimace from Tifa. "Something has been going on near the Deadlands. Barret, you remember him? He was out that way, introducing Marlene to some of her family, and something odd has been going on out that way. He's heading back as soon as everything is ready, but something odd is going on. When he gets back, he was going to fill me in." She paused, tapping her lip as she thought. "We should tell Cloud about this. It might be important, since you're...you know."

Since she was part Cetra. One of the last, though there were rumors now and then about other halfbloods, or even a full blooded Cetra roaming outside of their hiding place.

Finally, Aeris nodded. "We'll go visit them in the morning."

She didn't want to. Didn't want to guess what was causing the dreams.

But she had an idea. A very, very bad idea. So bad, she shied away from thinking about it even now.

If her idea was right, though, it explained the dreams, and the flash.

She is coming. That's what her dreams said.

There was only one She that the Cetra cared about.

"We'll go first thing in the morning."

Death with pale hair.

That was in her dreams as well

**Please review**

Reviews are what keep me posting. Otherwise, my naturally lazy streak tells me it's not worth it. Kick my laziness in the ass. Review and prove to it that I am totally justified.


	4. Paper

Rufus Shinra never did understand why people thought being the prince of the realm was such a desirable thing to be. Obviously they were idiots, but he still didn't understand it.

Right now, he was dealing with a massive amount of paperwork. Things his father or his father's advisors should be dealing with, but then, his father was a rather worthless old man when it came to anything besides his own pleasures. So now most of his workload had fallen on the prince. Which only made Rufus wish to set his father on fire. Perhaps he could convince one of his Turks to do so?

Not likely. The younger ones were his, but the eldest set still guarded his father, and because of that he would never make a move that wasn't totally defendable. Or outside of their presence. Both were required if he was ever to get rid of his father.

Perhaps he should try hiring his cousin of sorts someday? Strife probably disliked the man more than Rufus did. And being immortal did have its perks. The man had dealt with people he considered troubles to the royal line and the country before. And was historically recorded as complaining loudly when he was forced to be regent, finding a new king or queen as quickly as possible.

Later. And only if the man became truly intolerable.

As he was thinking of this, Rufus was absently aware that the leader of his branch of Turks was standing in the doorway, holding a folder. Though he greatly wanted to ignore the man, he was aware that anything that would bring Tseng in outside of his normal routine had to be bad, Rufus didn't dare. After a long few moments of pretending everything was all right, Rufus looked up. "Yes?"

Moving into the room, Tseng offered the folder to Rufus. "We might have an issue, Sir."

Fingertip pressing against his temple, a sign of agitation that he just couldn't train himself out of, Rufus resisted the urge to groan. Why did Tseng always have to be so calm and collected? If there was an 'issue', as he put it, then there was probably blood in the streets.

Though he did enjoy the fact that the man was much like himself. He was calm, collected, and ready to deal lethally with threats. Tseng and Rufus were both responsible for an equal number of kills when it came to potential assassinations against Rufus. It was something of a game. One that the other Turks indulged in as well. Reno and Rude were right behind, with Reno one ahead of his partner. It made for some interesting gloating sessions, which the prince had to admit were fun to listen to.

In any case, that was neither here nor now. Now was dealing with the folder that he was taking from Tseng and opening it.

As he read through it, Rufus frowned faintly. It was a conflicting mess of details, which was highly unusual from the man before him. Which just made him worry more. Going through the mishmash of details, he finally set the papers to the side, blue eyes narrowed as he looked at the man. "I'm not sure I like what the implications of this are."

"No, Sir." The classically clean lines of Tseng's face were tighter than normal, and he realized that his Turk was worried.

"What I'm seeing here is that there are people vanishing. Some being found later, very much dead. Some that are missing all together. With the only signs of them leading right to the Deadlands."

The Deadlands. The one place on the planet where no wars were fought, and no countries tried to claim it.

Not that Rufus was sure if there was anything to be had in that desolate area. Rumor had it that the Deadlands were where the last, great battle of the ancient Angels War had been fought. Not that anyone knew for sure. The only things they did know about the place was that it was as literal as its name. Nothing grew there. People who tried to live there all weakened and died if they didn't leave when it became obvious. Animals did not live there.

The land was sand and dead earth. Not even insects burrowed in it, and the birds themselves seem to go out of their way to avoid flying over it. Rufus had been there once, and it had a creepy, twisted feeling that seemed to pull at him. Like every other noble before him who had gone to investigate, he had just agreed that the place wasn't worth bothering over, and left it.

There were some things that no mortal should tangle with. Rufus didn't admit his limits often, but that was one he didn't hesitate to voice.

Mages hated the Deadlands. None of their spells seemed to work right, and massive spellwork had to be done just right, with an overabundance of power. The rest of it just seemed to be sucked away.

Nobody knew any answers. Not even his immortal cousin.

Though that was a thought.

"Have you heard anything about what Cloud and his group are doing?" Because he knew the man was investigating. Reno had brought that detail back. Where Tseng was perfectly polished, vanishing into the background of Court with ease, providing the perfect bodyguard for Rufus while surrounded by the irritating nobles, Reno was the opposite. Which was why the man was Tseng's second. Tseng could deal with the higher levels of society. Reno had the bottom half covered.

How he could find as much as he did, Rufus would never know. And it wasn't as if the man wasn't obvious. Tseng melted into the background, silent, deadly. Perfect for his court. Reno was just a lethal, but he was as flamboyant as Tseng was quiet. Where one didn't work, the other would do perfectly.

Rufus was rather pleased with his Turks, and just as happy that it was the right of each royal to chose their own. Otherwise he would have been forced to deal with his father's choices, and the man seemed as apathetic towards Rufus as Rufus was towards him.

But he was getting off track. Focusing back on Tseng, he waited for an answer.

"Reno and Rude have informed me that the group is doing their own hunting for details. Dealing with the Wutai faction of the underworld, they are sending out feelers, just as we are. Though they do have better connections through various levels than we do. Part of the reason you hire them as often as you do." A pause, and his face took on an expression it only did when he was about to talk about that little half-Cetra he had feelings for. The only time Rufus had ever seen his Turk lose his calm was when he realized that Zack Strife had started dating the woman. While not stopping his activities with his so called pack.

"They also seem to have been having some very intense talks with Aeris Gainsborough. It's possible that she might be able to tell more about what is going on due to her unique heritage."

Tseng did not want to bring Aeris in. Rufus knew that. He also knew that his father and his pet mage, Hojo, was pushing for it to happen. But they had left it to the Turks, and while the Turks were loyal to King first, then Prince, they were also incredibly loyal to each other. As long as Tseng wished to protect the girl, all the Turks would do their best to help. But if Rufus was to add his wishes to those of his father, Tseng would have no choice.

Rufus was as loyal to his people as they were to him. "It would be best to leave her with them for now. My cousin might have some memory or another triggered by her own abilities."

There was a subtle relaxation around Tseng, and the blond just smiled faintly at his Turk. The smile was returned.

"Reno and Rude have been making overtures to Tifa Lockhart. She has long time ties to Strife, as well as working with Aeris. She might have access to information that she learned and might reveal by accident."

Those words got a chuckle from Rufus. "And Reno might be able to drink for free, Rude can make adoring eyes at Ms. Lockhart." A nod. "While they are doing that, perhaps I should approach my cousin myself. We are family, after all."

In so many ways. Cloud had been required to remarry into the family more than once, though the current line of ruling Shinras only called him cousin. For most lines, he was a direct paternal line ancestor.

Far too complicated to bother with. He was prince, and would one day be king. As long as that was unchanged, Rufus did not care how Cloud was related to him.

Collecting a phone, he opened the small book of numbers he kept personally.

Cloud Strife was immortal and dangerous. No need to antagonize him.

Dealing with family was such a bother.


	5. Shadows

Zack did have to admit, it was a rare thing when someone landed on his head. Usually because it was him landing on other people.

Still, that little ninja brat was good at it, and he was soon in a scuffle with her, working on trying to get the girl off of him. Laughing, she clung on, while Cloud, who had been reading what Rufus had sent over, absently moved out of the way. That absent attitude would cost him shortly. After a bit of scuffling and cursing, Zack managed to dump her off on his friend, then scamper back.

Giving off a few startled curses of his own, Cloud glared at the taller man, trying to peel the girl's arms off his throat. "Yuffie. Down. -Now-."

While the princess of the Wutai Family didn't listen to people very often, Cloud had managed to earn her respect, and she let go, sliding down his back. As the man tugged at his shirt, trying to straighten it so it stopped digging into his neck, Yuffie snagged the letter he had dropped.

"Cloud, you dropped...." She stopped, eyes going a bit wide. Dodging Cloud's attempt at taking the letter back, she held up a hand as she read the letter. Frowning some, she looked at the older man with wide eyes. "It's wider than we thought."

Since that was the reason Yuffie had been invited over in the first place, Cloud sighed. "Sounds like you have news from your end. Did you find out what I ask for?" While she didn't look it, Yuffie was the daughter of Lord Godo, the head of the Wutai family. A major part of the massive, sprawling criminal base within the city of Midgar and the country around it was lead by the Wutai. Which meant that, through the slip of a child in front of him, Cloud had access to all sorts of things that Rufus might try to cover up.

Moving to perch on the arm of the couch, the ninja nodded. "Yeah. The clans got hit hard. And it wasn't just us. All the families are scrambling around, trying to figure out what is going on. Being tied to you has helped a little. We managed to get all the Heads in contact at once." A smirk. "Not in person, of course, but video works just as well. And it sounds like they are all just as worried as the rest of us." The woman wrinkled her nose. "And getting the Heads to admit to that was liking stealing eggs from a chocobo."

Nodding, Cloud watched her. "So the Wutai family and all its attendant clans are planning what, exactly?"

Rolling her eyes at that, Yuffie just gave him a look. He should know better than to ask that blatantly. Just because they had ties with each other didn't mean she was going to spill anything secret to him. "In any case, the various clans all over the place are starting to send in reports to the Heads of their respective families, not just the Wutai group." A grimace. "Though there are a few power plays going on, Godo has most of the other Heads working together rather than trying to take this time to try killing each other."

She shifted, leaning against the back of the couch. "We knew it was bad here, and in the area around, but from what Shinra says there, it's all over the country." A nod. "Though I can tell you one thing. Most of the missing? Are demonblooded. Not strong in most of them. Not even enough to show up as nifty extras. But most of them do have something. Rather like our prettyboy here."

Still in the room, Zack snorted at the wave his way. But he didn't interrupt. That told everyone just how serious he was taking all of it.

"Another thing." She waited until Cloud was focused on her again. "I can't say this about all of them. I don't know all of them. But I've noticed another trend so far. One Godo hasn't noticed yet, but he doesn't spend as much time with the lower levels as I do." Absently fingering a bracer, she tried to think of how to put this. "The ones that are vanishing? They're the ones who listen to anyone."

From the look on Cloud's face, he wasn't quite getting what she was trying to say. So Yuffie tried to explain better.

"You know how there are some guys who just follow anyone who is strong enough? Who you can talk into doing just about anything, cause they got no willpower of their own?" A slow nod. "Those guys. The ones I know, they are all that sort. Joined the family because they were born into it, and never had the guts to really push their way out. Mooks. Minions. Whatever you want to call them. They are still family, but we don't tell them anything important. Nobody does. Because you never know when someone is going to convince them to share it, and then your shorts are hanging out in the wind."

Ah, there was the wonderfully confused look that Cloud gave her from time to time when she sprung one of her sayings out on him. Not that it was really the time, but one should always enjoy the little things. "In any case, they're rather rubber-spined. Never really standing up for anything unless there is more than one of them to agree." The ninja shrugged. "Don't know if that helps or not."

Cloud nodded, then looked to Zack. The man nodded, then headed out. Yuffie watched him go, appreciating the view. Just because he was very much taken didn't mean she couldn't enjoy the eye candy. He was probably off to tell the others in the house what she had just passed on. Which was just as well. Because she had a few things that she was going to tell Cloud. And only Cloud. Because while the family did have their secrets, she owed Cloud. Big time.

"Father says that Leviathan was agitated."

The use of that word would tell Cloud that this was her, Yuffie, not the princess and heir apparent of the Wutai Clans, telling him this. Which meant he had damn well better keep it under wraps. From the nod, he understood, and his eyes were intent. That made her want to shiver.

Maybe, someday soon, she would have to make a play at him herself.

But not now. Now was for focusing.

"Leviathan has been quiet for a while, but since that magic, the Great Serpent hasn't been still. The shrine is always changing, and I think Father is afraid." She looked at Cloud. "He is talking about having me go through the battles already. That means he is afraid of dying. Like when the King tried to wipe out the Families and Clans. That was before I was born, but I know how afraid he was then by his face."

Cloud -had- been there for that rather blood filled event, and grimaced. "Is it as bad as that, then? I thought there was going to be a civil war if the King hadn't backed down.

A small nod, and Yuffie absently tugged at the end of her bandana. "He thinks something bad is coming. Real bad. Which is why Leviathan is reacting that way. And the foreseers...." Another bit of her clan secrets she shouldn't be sharing. "The foreseers see death coming." Death on flaming feet and metal wings. Whatever that meant.

There was silence as Cloud looked thoughtful. For a long moment, she wondered if he was going to ask her any questions that she really couldn't answer.

Though it seemed like he knew better, and just nodded. "Thank you. Let Godo know that we'll pass along any information when we find out something that might actually be useful. If his mages come up with anything, could you please let me know?"

Nodding, Yuffie bounced to her feet. "I'm going to go harass Seph for a bit. Think he'll mind?" A wicked grin, once which was answered in kind by Cloud.

"Of course he will. Which is why you are going to do it. Try not to get fried."

Waving at Cloud, Yuffie laughed.

She was the world's best ninja. As if she could be fried by anything. Not even the gods could fry her, let alone a silver haired prettyboy mage!

And off she went to prove it.


	6. Fog

Standing on the edges of what was once her prison, she reached out.

So long had passed since she had last walked this world. Since those things had bound her tight, bound her within a seal so large that it was impossible for any mortal to conceive of it. A massive undertaking that had destroyed most of the Cetra and left a part of this world permanently dead.

Now, she was free and standing on the edge of the place where she had been trapped. Already, she had been out, traveling. Already, she had started the song.

So many now had blood of her warriors in their veins. While not all the beings called demons now were truly of her kind, it had been many long, long years since her warriors had been loosed upon the mortals. Even during the war, she had encouraged them to breed with the humans. Those things bred so easily, so fast, that she found it useful. An army, being bred for her, to slave for her, to be thrown at her enemies.

Many of those children had been slain by their horrified mothers. Many others had lived. Lived and died and never knew they were anything other than the mortal demons that surrounded them. Most never knew that their fathers had been Jenova's immortal warriors. The only ones who did not were her sons. Only one had a child that she knew of before she was sealed. They should have bred more. Perhaps the Cetra had tracked them down as they had her fighters?

The human who had freed her, who had touched her magic so very long ago, had been of particular use. That one, so delightfully twisted in so many ways, had all but begged to serve her. He had done so from the moment they had first made contact. Such an amusing human flaw, pride. He had thought that he alone could undo the binding set into place by the most powerful magic users ever born, fed by the deaths of thousands, and continued to feed on any life that came close.

He had been reading the magic, trying to find out what it had held. And he did. When she had caught him, wandering so close, a flare of life that she planned to destroy and feed upon. Instead, he had worshiped her. Plucking the thoughts right out of his head, she realized that he had meant the words that he had gotten out before she had sealed his mouth. He wanted to serve her. To free her and watch her stand in glory over the broken remains of the pathetic beings that ruled the planet.

Why he wanted that was for purely selfish reasons. He wanted to live like her kind. Long and without so much human frailty. It had taken her a while to understand, but he wanted to solve mysteries. Solve them and force the world to bend the way he saw it. Such an amusing delusion, but one she had not been unwilling to use.

Such a wonderful little puppet, her human pet. He had brought her much information over the years and asked for very little back. Once such thing had been a touch of her magic. He had bred a child, and wanted to see if having even a tiny bit of her power outside of the seal would have an effect on the seal itself. It hadn't, but the child did take more after her than his mortal mother. She had seen that easily enough. Both in power and appearance.

But, to her frustration, her pet could not tell her what she wanted to know most. Where her family was. Her sons had been powerful, bred of her and a Cetra who had betrayed his own kind. Such a mixing of blood.... She could not find any other power that would tell her where they were sealed. The human tried to tell her that they were dead, had been killed by the Cetra not long after she had been sealed.

She had punished him for such a lie, and currently he was laying in the dust, still twitching slightly. He would continue to twitch until she returned and unlocked the spell on him. For now, though, she was going to find her kin.

Thus, she stood here. There was still a great deal of power, lingering in the very earth itself. So many years of power gathering could not be dispersed so easily, and it was easy to reach out and bring it to herself. From that, she wove out the spell that would seek out what she wanted.

This was not the first time she had done so. When she had started her song, it would start bringing to her an army. Small at first, but she had plans for a greater one.

This song, however, was not for her warriors to be. It was for her blood.

The result was entirely frustrating, though.

As if she was trying to see through a fog, Jenova tried to follow trails of power, which would be drawn to her children's children. At some point, there had to be more. Her sons wouldn't have stopped, and they should have sired enough children to leave a decent trail of power.

Instead, there was a lack of anything that could be called strong. It was as if she stood in a fog, caught in a blinding mist, unable to find her prey.

She had blood kin. She was -sure- of it. Something tugged at her, and she went one way first, than another.

Wherever they were, they were blocked from magic. Unable to feel her spells on them.

It had to be the fault of those who had bound her. They had found her kin and bound them as well.

Screaming, Jenova lashed out, destroying earth around her, flames rising up from nothing to burn everything around her to dust. She took out her anger on the world around her, and for miles around, people would wake up screaming from nightmares. She could feel it. Not that she cared.

Still snarling, panting a bit for breath as she recovered her temper, the demon queen forced herself to calm. Once she had, she reached out and gathered up the magic again. No, if she was going to do this, she was going to make sure that she did it right. So they were blocked from magic. That would have been a disability that others would know of. It would be something easily sensed. There were -other- ways to hunt, however. Just because they could not hear her song did not mean that they were hidden from her. The Cetra underestimated her if that was their grand plan.

Forming the magic into shapes, she willed the shapes into focus and action. They were a strange cross of hound and weasel. Vicious and cunning, and trackers beyond all earthly ability. Pricking her fingers, she fed them her own blood.

"Find those who carry this," she murmured. "Find the strongest ones, the ones with this blood in their bodies." It would have to be over a certain amount, or else they would not be able to find it. But her blood was strong, and Jenova was sure that, even after all these years, there would be some of her line around. With as much power as she gave them, they should also be able to find where her sons were sealed. "Go."

In a flurry of ghostly pale magic and dust, they vanished. They could return when they had found their prey. Then, she would go and collect her children.

For now, though, now she had plans.

The Cetra had sealed her, her sons, and kept others of her bloodline from their rightful inheritance of magic. She would destroy everything they tried to protect. In order to do so, she would have to have an army. A true army.

Pulling up more magic, she began to sing. She sang to the children of her warriors, putting more power behind it, wanting those who were stronger, who had more willpower than the weak ones she had collected so far.

They were bound to her by bonds more ancient than any of them could imagine. Sacred vows sworn to her by their many times grandparents.

Vows they would now have to answer. She was a queen of demons, and would not be denied.

Jenova sang.


	7. Mark

The spread of vanishing people and reports of unusual activity from out of the Deadlands had been slow. Then, almost overnight, it seemed as if it exploded outwards.

Sephiroth had gone to sleep one day, and woke up the next morning, head throbbing, reminded of the day where the initial wave that had started of it all. His arm itched, and absently scratching it, he pressed his face against Zack's back, not ready to face whatever was causing this issue. Seemed things had been going haywire more and more. Magic was starting to react oddly, flaring at odd times. It was almost as if there was more power, though that didn't make any sense at all.

The hiss and twitch away by Zack was a surprise, though, and he opened his eyes, starting at the man in surprise. And made his own hissing sound.

Across Zack's back, there was a series of dark marks, almost like bruises. Following their path, spanning from one shoulder to another, Sephiroth realized that they were phases of the moon. He didn't know what it meant, but he did know that Zack had not had them there last night.

Moving to push himself up, Sephiroth glanced down at his arm, which throbbed when he put weight in it. On his own skin was another series of bruise-like marks. Only on him, instead of the moons, it was marks of feathers. They spiraled down his arm, not exactly in a wing shape, but there was a hint of it. Staring at them, he tried to comprehend what had caused them. Most likely whatever did cause them caused the marks on Zack's back. Then he looked up at the other man, who was starting at Sephiroth's arm.

"We should check the others." It was a low voice, and he was already moving to get out of the bed as he spoke, trying to not put any pressure on his arm. Whatever caused it had caused damage, and he really thought that they were bruises. He'd have to look later. After making sure that the others were all right. That came first.

Most likely Cloud was still asleep. Sephiroth knocked on his door, and then pushed it open. The lump that was Cloud was apparently ignoring the door, because it required Sephiroth going and actually prodding the man to get him awake. The sharp sound from the blond told him what he wanted to know. "Where does it hurt?"

Though it didn't even take him asking. As Cloud pushed the blankets off, Sephiroth could see the dark marks on his arm. Snagging the man's hand, he studied the marks. Feathers on Cloud as well. "You have the same sort as me." He studied the marks closer. "They really do look like bruises." It was a murmur.

Cloud wasn't really quick when he first woke up, and Sephiroth was patient. Finally, the man nodded. "Get the others. We have to talk about this." He was staring at his arm, flexing his fingers some when Sephiroth slipped out of the room.

Searching through the rooms, he found Zack with the twins. Chaos was looking in the mirror, fingers brushing over the marks on his forehead, ones that were echoed over Vincent's as well. Sephiroth got closer, and realized that they were mimicking the horns that the twins could materialize. Behind Vincent, Zack was studying the man's back. "They've got wings, too." He looked up, eyes a bit wide. "It's under their tattoos."

Since the twins had wings tattooed on their back to mimic the very real wings they kept hidden most of the time, Sephiroth could understand Zack's surprise. To show up -under- the ink of the tattoos....

It didn't take long for Cloud to join them, a shirt pulled on, covering the marks on his arms. "How many are affected?"

"Looks as if it was the four of us so far." That was from Vincent, who was sitting still under Zack's examining. "Chaos and I, as expected, have the same marks." He looked at the two in front of him. "You?"

A nod from Cloud. "Zack as well? Then it would be all five of us. Zack, what do yours look like?"

The dark haired man shrugged. "Chaos said they look like moon phases. Are on my back, which makes it hard to see." He wrinkled his nose. "Though I can feel them. Just in the right spot to pull no matter what I do." He ran a fingertip along one of the marks on Vincent's back, and Sephiroth saw that the man grimaced a bit. "How did we get bruises like this?"

Cloud shook his head. "I don't know. But we should find out if there are others affected." He glanced outside. It was still dark out, and the blond scowled faintly. "Though it is far too early to find many people to talk to. Zack, send Yuffie a message and see if they have anything. -I'm- going back to sleep for a few more hours, until regular people are starting to get up. Then I'll go visit Rufus."

Sleeping more did sound good, but for some reason, Sephiroth was jittery. "I'm going to do some research," he told them. "If this means something, maybe I can find out what it is."

There was a snort from Zack, but the man just sighed. "Now I feel like I have to help and be useful. Let me take a shower first."

"No need to rush," Sephiroth said dryly, already moving towards the library. "It's not as if you are useful in most things."

That got an indignant howl and a pillow tossed at him. Chuckling faintly, Sephiroth dodged it, then went to start his research.

///

It turned out that they were definitely not the only ones affected. Especially when Yuffie showed up with a mark like a serpent up the side of her face, the opened mouth centered over her forehead. She didn't look too pleased with her new addition, but at least the pain faded. The marks went from being bruise like to just dark marks the same color as dark bruises.

"There are more people gone," she said bluntly. There wasn't any play in her voice this time, and she hadn't even tried to harass any of them yet. Vincent knew that face when he saw it. She was acting both her age and her status. Even if her family was a criminal element, they were nobility in their own right, and had their own vassals. Nobility had their own obligations to the ones who looked up to them, and Yuffie did not want her people being stolen.

With a sigh, Cloud clung to his cup of tea. It was his safe haven at the moment. Vincent was starting to wonder if Cloud even put the cup down anymore. It seemed as if it was always there, steaming lightly. Which was a good indicator that either Sephiroth was paying close attention, or Zack was. Sephiroth would warm it with a spell, and Zack would just go get hot tea. He and Chaos had both learned that Cloud would try casting spells on them if they messed with his tea. Like Sephiroth, they could do warming spells, but only Zack was allowed to actually make more tea for Cloud. Seemed he was the only one who made it right.

Realizing that his thoughts were meandering to thoughts of tea instead of missing people, Vincent yanked it back. "Do you have any more ideas of where they might be going?"

Yuffie gave a rough shake of her head. "No!" she snarled, letting her emotions show. Reigning herself in visibly, the girl let out a harsh breath. "I don't. That's the problem. All we can tell is that they seem to be going to the same place."

She looked at the map, and pointed.

The Deadlands.

"We're going to have to go there soon enough." A murmur from Sephiroth, and Vincent felt the prickle of something creep up his spine. He took more after the human than the demon side of their heritage, but he had as much demon blood as Chaos did.

"I don't know if that is a good idea," he said finally. "Not us. Not mages. Not demons, or half bloods, or anyone with a mark." He brushed light fingers over the marks on his forehead. "Something is causing them. And I don't know how closely we're connected to that something. And mages have never liked that area." He looked to Cloud and to Yuffie. "We need human scouts. Pure humans." Which was something of a rarity anymore. Humans and demons mixed freely, and most so called "demons" were at least part human. Not that most weren't actually nature spirits or that type. Not like their mother had been. True demon, from another place all together.

More distracting thoughts. "In any case, if you tell Rufus we need human scouts, he can get them into place. He has the airships and such to call on. We don't." He looked at everyone. "We're all marked by this power. All affected by it. I wouldn't risk anyone who is being affect by putting them closer to the possible source."

And it was a very real danger. Even if someone was safe here, in Midgar, that didn't mean they couldn't be overwhelmed by whatever power this was if they got too close to it.

"I'll make the suggestion to Rufus," Cloud said. "You might as well find out if anyone in one of your clans is interested. We can send them out on the same flight." That was to Yuffie, who nodded. Her people were trained to spy. To note details that others missed. It was part of why they were such a successful organization.

"There will be at least once. I'll send them your way once it's decided who will come."

Sending people into the Deadlands. Intentionally.

Vincent wondered what they would find there.

///

Sitting on a throne she had created, settled in the same spot where she had once been sealed, Jenova smiled.

They were coming to her. Already her army was swelling. With them came more force, more magic. More mages had come with this group. They trickled in one at a time, but as they came, Jenova could feel her power base grow. With each new person who accepted the ancient bond, she could strengthen the song and draw more to her. It was a spiral that would spell death for those who followed the Cetra on this pathetic world. Soon, it would fall to her.

It had been a shock to realize that the Cetra had all but abandoned this place. And the world that had festered after their retreat was a delight. Such power here, in so much suffering.

She could do such glorious things with that sort of power. All without having to fear the interference of those who could stop her.

Once she found her family, they truly would be unstoppable.

Drawing her primary of the mage talented to her, she pressed a hand to his face. His look of adoration didn't fade as she drew the power out of him. That went into the spell of the song, strengthening it to new levels. If only she had more like this one.

"I might be able to bring you one."

Realizing she had spoken out loud, she looked to her human pet, and just quirked a brow. "Oh?"

"There is one out there who has your power. It's the basis of his." The human bowed. "If I brought him, he is a strong mage. You might have to...damage him, but he would provide much magic."

Jenova realized that he was speaking of his son. Which did make even one such as her sneer slightly in disgust. It did him no good to offer up his child to her, but he had anyway. Even a demon would not do such a thing unless it brought them great benefit. Bloodties were too easy to use. If someone had one of her children she would not be so lax, and she could not understand the point of his putting himself even more into her power.

Finally, she just waved her hand. "Do as you wish," she said, turning back to look as more dark shapes began to form on the horizon. More warriors for her. Who cared if they were weak and out of shape? She could repair that. She simply needed the bodies to fix.

Behind her, the human left, and Jenova smiled.

Soon, she would finish what she had started so many years ago.


	8. Groom

Dain af Niohoggr

It was a busy time at the home where the group lived and their official "office". It seemed that whenever they were awake, someone was researching something, running messages somewhere, or trying to keep someone else from working too hard. Something was coming, anyone with the least bit of sensitivity could tell, and it just made those working on solving the issue work harder. It was engrossing.

Thus, the doorbell going off made Zack almost walk into a wall. He hadn't heard anyone use that thing in a while. Usually someone who was coming over by this point just called, then let themselves in. Or, in the case of Turks, called and were met at the front door. Trying to remember the last time someone had actually knocked or rang the bell, Zack decided to take one for the team and deal with the person. Who was most likely some sort of salesperson, or maybe a Court member trying, for whatever reason, to get Cloud or Zack to support something. That seems to be all the ones who came anymore. Mostly because Zack had done his best to irritate the annoying people. The ones who had actual brains he got along with. Everyone else could jump off the highest tower of the castle for all he cared about them.

When he opened the door, he stared at the man on the other side, and had a very serious, very long moment of considering just shutting the door again. From the man's face, he was just as displeased to see Zack as Zack was to see him. Another long moment, and Zack fought back the urge to just stab him as a sneer formed.

"Either let me in, or go inform my son that I wish to see him. It's possible I might have some information for him over the situation that is happening." The sneer and disdain were clear in Hojo's voice, and the urge to stab was rising. Still, Zack stepped aside. If he did leave the man on the front step, Seph would have to deal with the man's anger. Plus the manners that Cloud had thumped into his head over the years had taken some.

Also, if he left Hojo outside, the man might dissect something. What, Zack didn't know, but he didn't trust the man. From the way Seph acted around him, the man's own son didn't trust him, either.

"You can wait there." A wave at the room that stood just off the entry hall for just this purpose. Once the man was in there, the wards would keep him from going further into the house unless a someone who was part of the household asked him back into the living part of the house. Another sneer told him that Hojo could sense them, but he didn't move until the man was in there, and he could feel the wards lock. Zack wasn't Cloud. While he didn't use magic on a regular basis, he could, and it didn't blow up in his face.

Feeling the man was secured, at the moment at least, and that he would feel it if he damaged the wards, Zack went hunting.

It wasn't as if he expected Seph to be anywhere other than where he found his friend. Buried in the library, going through older and older books, hunting for some hint. Cloud was doing the same, as well as racking his brain for anything that had happened during his long life that was similar.

That was harder than most people realized. Zack knew. He wasn't even sure if the twins and Seph realized how much Cloud lost, memory-wise. Oh, he was fine for about two or three centuries, but if you asked him about things before that, he started developing blank spots. One of the most important things that he and Cloud had ever talked about had to do with that. As his adopted heir, Zack had to know what to do if Cloud ever slipped into one of his blank states. The man barely reacted to anything, according to his own stories. Not that Zack had seen one of them yet, but Cloud had suggested they were probably his own way of coping with the massive amount of time he had been alive. Problem was when he snapped out of it, he didn't remember any of it.

That, on top of the fact that, as he got older, Cloud forgot more of the earliest times. He had once mourned the fact that he could barely remember anything of his mother to Zack. while very, very drunk. After that, Zack knew why the man made the little plush creations of his. Outliving everyone was bad enough. Forgetting almost everything about them was even worse.

All that ran through his mind as he looked at the pair, then he coughed. "Seph, you have a...visitor."

Seph looked up, a vaguely amused look on his face. "From that tone of voice, I would expect my visitor to be a giant roach or such."

"It's your father."

The amused look vanished, and it looked as if Seph was torn between looking frustrated and disgusted. He wasn't a big fan of his father, either, doing everything he could to just avoid the man. If the older mage had come here, though, well.... It must be something important. Hojo disliked his son's chosen companions as much as they all loathed him.

"If you don't to see him, I can always call Vincent and Chaos."

That was with a bright tone of voice. Oh, if let loose on Hojo, the twins would shred him. They hated the man more than anyone in the house did. Including Sephiroth. Which was a wonder in and of itself. Sometimes Zack wondered what the man did to piss them off so bad, but he couldn't ask them. Just the mention of his name would send them looking for something or someone to kill. Something that they really didn't have time for at the moment.

Though it seemed that his sheer hope brought back a bit of Seph's humor, as the man chuckled faintly. "No, no. I don't want to make Cloud explain to the King why the man's pet mage is dead and painting the walls of Cloud's house."

"Do not bring me into this. I don't see why we would have to tell the King at all." The blond waved. "Go see the man. The sooner you do, the sooner he leaves, and the sooner you can calm down over him deciding to come visit." A grimace, and Cloud continued. "Besides, it's possible that he might actually be able to give some useful information."

That just got a sigh and a faint scowl from Seph before his face smoothed, settling into the blank, unfeeling look that he wore when dealing with Hojo.

Part of the reason that made Zack despise the older mage.

"I'll deal with him. Then get back to more important things."

Zack nodded, and turned to lead the way. Even if Seph knew where the man was, Zack wasn't going to let him walk into that without having at least one friendly face.

///

Unhappy at the entire idea of having to deal with the man who claimed to be his father, Sephiroth kept his face calm and smooth. There was no point in having to listen to Hojo denounce the people he was friends with as unhealthy influences. Again. So he would listen to the man, tell him no to whatever idea he had come up with this time, and escort him out.

Zack lead him to the room, stepping in and resting against the door frame there. There was something amusing about that. If Hojo put his mind to it, he probably had the power to blow up most of this house. He wouldn't do anything so wasteful and overbearing, but he could. And Zack just ignored that totally and was willing to take the risk in order to watch Sephiroth's back.

This was part of the reason why he much preferred this family to the one he was born to.

"Send him away," Hojo said after a long moment of staring contest with Zack. "I have something I want to talk to you about. Alone."

He could just walk out, refuse to give the man the satisfaction of talking about whatever he wanted to talk about. But he couldn't. Just on the off chance he might provide useful information. With a sharp nod of his head, Sephiroth okayed the idea with Zack. The younger man frowned, but moved to go. He did take the time to bump his shoulder against Sephiroth's on the way out.

Once Zack was out of the door, Sephiroth turned to face Hojo with a faint frown. It deepened when he heard Hojo mutter about a "filthy little beast" after Zack left. Hojo could never appreciate Zack the same way that Sephiroth did, but he would not listen to the man being degraded in front of him. "Do you have actual business here, or have you come simply to be a irritant?"

Hojo looked at him coldly. "I do have business. It would be a grand opportunity for you to come with me today." The blue of Hojo's eyes was particularly strong today, which meant he had been working major magics recently.

"No." He was not planning on going anywhere. "Now, if that was all you had to say, I have work to do. We have been hired by the Prince to....." Hojo cut him off with a dry laugh.

"The Prince, hmm? Such a paltry title. So human. Limited." The blue brightened, and there was something in the depths that bothered Sephiroth. He didn't know what it was, but there was something that he had never seen in his father's eyes before. Not obsession, but close. "I bring you an offer from Jenova herself."

Jenova. He had spent his entire childhood hearing that name. Hearing the man in front of him going on for hours about her powers, even as he forced Sephiroth to work on his magecraft. Only the fact he loved magic had kept Sephiroth from refusing to ever touch it again. But he could no more ignore the singing in his blood than a person could ignore the twins when they were being persistent. It was just part of him. Turning his back on it took a stronger man than Sephiroth would ever be.

His father had nearly killed that love for magic. All in pursuit of that name.

Jenova.

The demon queen herself.

Looking at the man, horror breaking through his carefully held mask, Sephiroth felt frozen. Only after a few moments did he get his voice to work. "What?" A thin, strained tone. Not like his normal one at all.

"She wants you to join her." The look in Hojo's eyes became clear to Sephiroth now. Madness. The man was insane. Completely and totally. Even if he was hallucinating the idea that the demon queen had broken out of her seals, the very idea was a dangerous one. Hojo had power, and more than that, he had experience. Thanks to Cloud and his memories and books, Sephiroth knew some strange and forgotten things, but nothing beat the sheer amount of magic Hojo had learned over the years. If madness had taken over, and he was ready to act as if Jenova had come back....

A scoff from the man. "I am not mad, Sephiroth. She is awake, and looking for generals for her army. You were -made- for this moment. This one right here." He gestured, sweeping his hand hard through the air in front of him. "She was going to be loose soon. I felt it when I first examined the seal that bound her." The madness was brighter, and Sephiroth felt the first twist of fear low in his belly. This was bad. Hojo was completely insane. Nobody went looking for the queen of demons. "I knew, could tell it then, and I made a bargain with her." Intent eyes focused on Sephiroth, and Hojo smiled. It sent shivers down his spine. His father never -smiled-. Smirked, yes, gave a false quirk of the lips that the foolish could mistake as a smile, sometimes. Never a smile like this.

"I made you with her power, willingly given. You were the greatest experiment I've ever done, all for her when she came."

"You really have lost your mind...." Sephiroth's words were slow, and he reached out, tugging at a very specific ward. This was not something he could handle alone. He was not a stupid man, and was not willing to risk everyone just to prove he could deal with his father alone.

Hojo frowned at him. "No. I have not. But I see that you aren't willing to accept the power. Yet." His face cleared as he looked at Sephiroth. That was even more eerie than when he had been smiling. "She is awake now, Sephiroth. And there are no Cetra to seal her again. With only the pathetic beings that live on this world now, she -will- win." He focused on Sephiroth's eyes. "You will join her, one way or another. Remember this offer, Sephiroth. You were bred to serve her, bound to her in blood and bone and magic."

"You should leave. Now."

Cloud was just suddenly there, Zack right behind him, both of them looking at Hojo with narrowed eyes. Around them both, Sephiroth could almost see the flex of the wards, ready to do whatever the owners of the house wanted.

Nodding once, Hojo looked to Sephiroth again. "She will come to you. I can tell you this already. Say yes when she does, Sephiroth. Only then will you survive the coming wave."

He moved towards the door, not even looking at either of the other two men, as if they didn't exist. Nobody relaxed at all until he was outside the front door.

The moment it was closed, Zack was triggering off the wards, sealing the house. Just in case. Magic started to scour the rooms Hojo had been in, making sure that there had been nothing left behind.

Rubbing a hand over his face, Cloud sighed. "We should have kept him. For nothing else, to ask him details."

Sephiroth shook his head. "No. It....no." He did not want the man here. Ever. Even if they could have gotten any information from him, which Sephiroth doubted, it would be suspect, most likely flawed. Besides, he did not want that man close to him, ever. He knew that he had been a test for his father. Had known that since he was old enough to understand what the words meant. But the idea that he had been -made- for such a thing. That he had only been born to be some monster's toy....

"Hey." It was a low sound, and a shoulder bump from Zack made him look up. The man smiled at him. "You're not going to let him do that to you, right? He's just a creepy old guy. I saw his type all the time before." That was a rare reference to his time before being adopted by Cloud, something Zack very, very rarely brought up. "Just the right words to make you wonder, just enough truth to make you believe. Don't listen to him. He's a creepy old bastard, and he is nuts."

Cloud nodded. "Zack is right. He's manipulative. Don't take anything he says at face value. Now," he looked at both of them. "We have research to do. And a direction."

A sigh.

"We're going to need people who remember more details about history than I do. And while there aren't any Cetra to ask, we still have their notes."

Sephiroth nodded, silent.

If Jenova really had returned, then there was no time to focus on anything else.

The world wouldn't survive another Angels War.


	9. Eyes

Chaos was still twitching over the fact that -Hojo- had been there when he saw Zack and Cloud stiffen.

There was a strange flex in the air, and he felt power race over his skin. As it did, he snarled, the sound echoed by Vincent. Both moved, putting their backs to the others, looking around for whatever was causing it.

Zack's cheeks flushed as he pushed at something, hands up as if he was physically pressing something back. "The wards....." It was obvious Cloud was trying to do something as well, but he was rather useless with magic. The wards where tied to both Strifes, but Zack was the one who could do the most with them.

With a growl, Zack yanked back, going white. Whatever he had been trying didn't work, and he almost fell. Vincent reached out and supported him, and as he did, something appeared before them.

She was tall. Taller than most women, and she looked at them with red-violet eyes. Long silver hair floated behind her, power rippling along the strands. The sheer amount of power she held to charge her hair like that was insane. Like wings, her hair spread out as it moved lightly behind her, sparks sliding along silver. And her eyes glowed brightly, moving over each of them.

Beautiful. But it wasn't something that Chaos was tempted by. She radiated power. Cold, lethal power. His mother times a million. Chaos never expected to find anyone, ever, who had that sort of power.

To have them in the room with him, studying his pack with those cold eyes, made him want to run. Take his pack and flee. Not many inspired that in him, and Chaos really didn't like the feeling.

The woman looked at them, then smiled as she focused on Sephiroth.

"You are everything your father says." Her voice was smooth and rich, a sort of ringing undertone to it. It sent more shivers down Chaos's spine, and the urge to flee strengthened, though now he felt the desire to just throw himself at her feet. From the way the others reacted, they were also being affected by it. Though none of them reacted as much as Sephiroth.

The man stiffened, fingers already twisting to cast a spell if needed. Chaos had worked with him far too much to not recognize it. "I fear that I had to decline my father's message from you."

That just got a laugh, high and unnerving. Everything about her was unnerving. "Nobody ever said you had any control over the offer, little one. Though you are not the reason that I am here, I do plan on collecting what is owed me someday soon."

Once she finished, her eyes flicked to Cloud.

Of the set, Cloud was the calmest. He was staring back at the woman, eyes searching.

"Hello, grandchild."

Chaos choked.

center////center

So, it wasn't all idle thoughts and speculations.

"Hello, Grandmother."

If the others looked any more surprised, he was sure they would fall over. But he could remember bits of his early years. One of the more prominent memories was of his mother brushing his hair. She had been singing to him. What the song was, he had lost a long, long time ago. But she had sang it all the time. In the middle of it, she had stopped, her hand resting on his head. Curling fingers through his hair, which was worn longer then, as was the style, she had smiled at him in reflection.

"So much better to be gold than silver."

He hadn't understood then, and for years, he still hadn't gotten it. Then, when he got older, and began to realize the obsession his mother had with one of the sons of Jenova, he began to look closer.

They had silver hair. One had been killed near where they had lived before his uncle had betrothed his mother to a new husband and they had moved. He had never seen a good picture of the man, but if he had collected what he knew of Loz... Truthfully, Cloud could see a closer resemblance between himself and either of the other two, but his mother would never say who his father was, or where she was during that time she was missing. And only one had been heading towards their home.

"It was Loz, wasn't it?"

Jenova smiled, hair rippling out again as she nodded. "He was my only child to have an heir. That I'm aware of. Your mother was a lovely woman." A slightly insane smile. "Your blood is strong to have lived so long." Another tilt of her head. "Though not strong enough."

He said nothing, simply looking at the woman who was his grandmother. Hard to believe, in a way. Sephiroth took after her more than Cloud did. Though Cloud had always favored his mother, small boned, gold hair, unusually bright blue eyes, more than his mysterious, unknown father. Though now the man wasn't such an unknown. Now it was confirmed that he, Cloud, was as unnatural as he had been declared more than once over the years.

A faint touch to the small of his back, and he took his eyes off Jenova enough to glance sideways. There was Zack, who just smiled at him a little. There was still acceptance there. Not that Cloud was sure he could -ever- do anything that would make Zack hate him. Except maybe abandon him. Which Cloud didn't plan on doing anytime soon. Smiling back at the man, Cloud looked back to Jenova.

"What do you want?"

"So direct. Just like your grandfather. For a Cetra, he was very straight forward."

Okay, -that- had been a surprise. He had never been able to find out much from the histories about who fathered the three sons of Jenova. Had never put quite as much effort into it as he could have if he had -known-, but it wasn't important now. "That isn't an answer."

Jenova studied him, the crack-pop of power along her hair coming quicker. "So impatient. Over such a long life, you should have have learned how to take your time." The glow of her eyes brightened. "You are family. Blood of my blood. I still cannot find where they sealed my sons. Will you stand in their place, at my side?"

Was that growl from Vincent of all people? Cloud couldn't help it. He started to laugh.

The reaction startled everyone, and Jenova scowled, eyes turning more red than violet.

"I think that insanity apparently runs in my line if you thought I'd say yes to -that-." He chuckled more. "And they aren't sealed. Your sons are dead, taking out like rabid animals not long after you were sealed away."

A long moment of hesitation, and then she snarled. "Far too much like your grandfather. I will offer again, later. Once you have realized just how powerful I am, you will crawl to join me. You, and the pet created for me by the human." That got a growl from Sephiroth this time.

As suddenly as she was there, the woman was gone, shattering the wards as she did.

That never happened before, and Cloud wasn't expecting the feedback from them that he got, and from the strangled sound out of Zack before everything went dark, he wasn't the only one.


	10. Summon

Returning to where she was gathering her army, and her power, Jenova screamed. All around, her fighters froze in fear, unsure of what their queen was going to do. After a few moments, she stalked off, turning her focus inward.

Her sons were dead. She had not believed the human, but to hear the words from her grandson..... There had been a ring of truth to his voice that she did believe.

Those bastards. To murder her sons, who got half their blood from a Cetra. Their -father- had been one of the Cetra himself, so to murder their own kind.....

Snarling, she stalked towards her mages. "You, come with me." She was so furious that her tone brooked no disagreement as she pointed to several of them. Continuing on, she was followed by the strongest of her mages, the strongest six she had. To do what she planned, she would need the power. Even if it delayed her other plans, this would help her in the long run.

Simply finding her sons and undoing the seals that held them was no longer an option. If they were dead, then she will have to move on. There were things that she could do to salvage her children, but it would take power. Most of it would come from her, but she had mages for a reason. It was not something she wanted to waste power on, but she needed generals that she trusted. And her children were always devoted to her.

Leading her mages to the spot where she worked most of her magic, Jenova growled faintly. "You, there." The first one scurried to where she pointed. One by one, she positioned them. Then, using her own blood, she drew marks on their faces, muttering as she did, ancient words spilling from her mouth. Most of these mages would have died to learn what she knew, even the tiniest piece. So much had been lost in the purges that followed the war, and her powers were unmatched anymore. Any mortal would be hard pressed to match them in any case. Well aware that they were trying to catch her words so they could try using them later, Jenova just smiled.

Finally, she moved back, standing in the middle of where they stood. With the smile still on her face, she began to chant in a language that mortal minds couldn't even begin to comprehend. And around her, the mages went stiff and still, eyes wild as their bodies locked up, unable to move, or even breathe as she continued. As they began to suffocate, unable to draw in any air, her voice took in a higher tone, calling on the magics of the world. Nobody who died was ever truly gone, especially those who were murdered. Her sons were even more tied than most, their blood laced through with the magic of the Cetra, part of the reason she had had children with their father. Cetra magic, she could not touch. But her sons could, and she had used that to her advantage.

Now she would have them back. They were -hers-, and she did not give up her prizes without a fight.

Slowly, her mages stopped trying to struggle. She could feel it in the magic. Two for each of her sons, for they were strong, and to bring back life like this....

One to bring back the soul, one to lock them into this world again.

She would have her sons back.

As the last of the mages finally died, she felt the spell take, and everything went grey.

When everything came back, she was on her knees, blood dripping from her nose. A very powerful spell indeed.

She felt the power drain drag on her as she pushed herself to her feet, staggering a bit. The bodies that should have been there were gone. Good. Just as she had predicted. Not that she had ever had to do this spell before.

There was a pull, and she smiled. The spells had taken. Her sons would rise, wherever their bodies had been left, and come to her. The song would see to that.

Forcing her legs to stiffen, Jenova walked back to the camp. For now, she would rest. Everything could wait until her sons had returned.

///

It was the eldest of her children to returned first. As the pull of the spell caught her attention, Jenova went to meet him.

As she waited, Jenova observed him. Something was off, though she couldn't tell what. Not from here. All she could do was watch and wait for him to get close enough.

Finally, he joined her, and bowed. "Mother." The voice was as she remembered, though the almost hypnotic quality was gone. Her warrior, strong, fast, and who led his troops by example, stood before her.

But he was not complete.

Reaching out, Jenova touched his face, lifting his head so that she could see him. Cat eyes stared back. The same eyes she had when she allowed the glow to fade, that Sephiroth had also gained with the magic she had given his father.

Her sons had had their father's eyes. The same rich blue color that her grandson had inherited.

Not now.

Without hesitating, she reached into the magic that surged in her son. There, she found only her own magic. The power that her son had inherited from his father, the power that all Cetra and their cursed half-blooded children carried in them, the ability to touch the Lifestream and to manipulate it. It was gone. All of it. Not even a bit of anything Cetra remained.

Her sons were just that. Hers. No sign of anything but their demon genetics.

It was those cursed Cetra. They must have done something to keep her from reclaiming her sons as fully as she had intended.

Snarling, she pulled her hand away. Perhaps her other sons had been more successful in their resurrection.

It seemed that her enemies were not done with their actions against her.

No matter, she would prevail still. They were dead, or gone for so long they showed they no longer cared about this world. For now, she would wait for her other sons to appear, to see if this one had just gone wrong. He was the only one who had sired a child, perhaps that had something to do with it. If not, well, she would deal with that when it occurred. Until then, she would not let it affect her plans.

Days later, as first one, then the other of her children came, Jenova was displeased that they had lost the Cetra. Perhaps that part simply refused to leave the planet once it had returned there.

No matter. In all other matters, they were fine. Not as whole as they had been once, but unlike her, they had been murdered horribly, and their bodies left to rot. -She- had retained herself, held in stasis until the seal had been broken. An unintended side effect, she was sure, but she was not unwilling to turn the traps the Cetra had created against them. If they had any intelligence, they would have set the seal to drain her until she simply vanished. That was the danger of being a pure demon as she was. But they hadn't, and so now she was here, as whole as the day she had been sealed.

They would suffer.

First, she would determine just how much her sons remembered and could do still, then she would move to her own plans. Manipulation, destruction, and the total enslavement of this world. From there, she could take the next step.

Collecting her sons, Jenova began to discover what she needed to know.


	11. Slot

"Cloud, you have a call."

Still suffering from the headache caused by the shattering wards, Cloud lifted his head carefully. Damn thing had lingered for days. Not that Zack was much better off. As someone who was actually -able- to use most magic without blowing something up, he was the one who did most things with the wards. So between Cloud's long time connection and Zack's more interactive connection, neither of them had been too happy when they had woken up from the breaking.

Wards weren't supposed to -do- that. The amount of power that it required to break wards, especially wards as old as some of those were, made Cloud wary.

"Who's calling?" And why hadn't they called on his cell? He had it for a reason, people. Mainly so he could answer the phone while still in bed and not have to get up. "And where's the phone?"

Vincent made an amused sound. Damn half-demon. He didn't have to deal with a ward headache. Cloud wondered if he could set Vincent on fire if he concentrated hard enough. Though the mere idea of doing so just made his head hurt more. "There isn't a phone. It's from -your- room."

His room. Hells. That was the one room in the house that the others didn't go into. It was connected to the room where the small plush figures of the people he had cared for in the past resided, but even they didn't go into the room that Cloud had told everyone to stay out of. That room held some highly important papers, including several ancient treaties that he kept because he was the primary signer on them. He -had- to keep them.

Which meant that not all of this headache was just from the wards. And that it would go away if he got out of bed and went and answered the damn pull of the magic. Someone was trying to contact him through one of the treaties. Which meant it was being activated. Fuck.

The last time Cloud had been called to deal with a treaty was when the city-state of Banora had come under attack. That had been a few centuries ago, and he remembered how much he hated the magic ties that the treaties caused. He had kids, they ended up in the royal line. Why couldn't -they- get these stupid calls? Being tugged on magically to the piece of enchanted paper that would allow the various heads of country to communicate when they were invoking parts of the treaty wasn't fun at all. Just because Cloud was the only one of the original signers still alive didn't mean he wanted to be stuck with them for eternity.

Pushing himself up, he moved to pull on clothing. The treaties did have a visual component, and he didn't feel like flashing whoever he was talking to. "How did you know?" he asked Vincent absently, who was leaning on the frame of his door. The pose reminded him greatly of Chaos, and spoke of how tired Vincent was. None of them were getting rest. He might have to do the boss thing and insist that they all take a day off, threat of war or not. Being too stressed out would just make their reactions slow, and if something did happen, they couldn't afford to have slow reactions.

"Goku told me. Seems they could hear it in the other room, and so he came to tell you. He ran into me first, and I move faster."

He tossed the plush, who shrieked happily as he flew through the air, and was safely caught by Cloud. The blond glared at the other man, looking the doll over for any possible damage. "Careful." Seeing that there was no damage, just a giggling plush of a demon, he rested Goku on his shoulder. The little figure grabbed onto a bit of Cloud's hair, and Cloud smiled faintly. The one magic he could truly do. Which was just as well. He had his family, and the fact that the plushies lasted long after the people they were based on died gave Cloud some comfort. Plus they helped him keep track of things. Especially things he had forgotten that had happened during their originals lifetimes.

Another pet of the golden eyed demon, and he started for the room, Vincent behind him. When they got closer, Cloud was swarmed by the little figures, and he realized with a jolt of guilt he hadn't come to visit for a bit, and they had clearly seen how busy he was and left him alone. He would have to rectify that once he dealt with whoever had called over the treaty this time.

Petting them all some, he did start shooing them off once he was at the door. "Off, off." There were little cries of disappointment, but he was soon free of the soft little figures. Then he looked at Vincent, who held up his hands with a small smile. "I take it I'm not allowed to come look either, hmm?"

"They don't work if there is anyone in the room who hadn't signed them." Or was in charge of the country that signed them. So complicated. Not that Cloud hadn't explained them before. He watched as Vincent gave an amused smile, and went to go deal with the plushies, who had taken Cloud's abandonment as a reason to swarm up Vincent. It would keep them all occupied for a bit.

Slipping into the room, Cloud sighed in relief as the headache began to diminish. Oh, thank gods. Much better.

Taking a moment, he glanced around, each of the treaties under their own secure glass case. It only took a moment to note which one was active. Cosmo Canyon. There was faint flicker, almost like fire, rippling over the case. Muttering to himself, he moved over, dragging a chair, and then rested his hand on the glass itself. Energy tingled through his hand, creeping up his arm. It kept going up, until his entire arm and shoulder had that distinctly pins and needles sensation. He still remembered the first time it had happened, and he thought it was an attack. Especially as the sensation spread to cover his chest.

Once it registered that, yes, he was alive, heartbeat and all, and that his magic was the right magic, the prickling vanished. Shaking his hand slightly, Cloud settled into the chair. Now, to wait for the original caller to return. It shouldn't take long, but he wasn't sure how long he had ignored the call in the first place. They might have had to leave.

Or maybe not. Almost instantly, the rippling light over the treaty strengthened, and an image appeared there. It was a red figure, much like a large cat, and Cloud scowled at it. "Hello, Nanaki."

The scowl just seemed to make Nanaki smile. Seriously, what was it with people and being amused when he was frowning at them. Maybe it was time to go nuts again. Maybe after all of this was over. Didn't have time to go bat shit currently, and he just looked at the other one expectantly.

"Hello, Cloud. I see you woke up in a fine mood this morning."

"Don't know why everyone seems to think that they have to talk to me about things. Couldn't you have harassed the King?"

Nanaki chuckled, his good eye bright in the magical light. "Grandfather said to tell you hello before he left, and it is your own fault. You are the one who decided that living forever was a good thing, and that we all trust you. Besides, as humans measure things, you are prettier than your King."

"How is your grandfather?"

"Busy." Nanaki's expression turned serious. "There is an army camping outside of our lands. He's currently in the tower, manning the defenses."

Given how much attention was required by the magical defenses of Cosmo Canyon, Cloud could believe the other when he said his grandfather was busy. "What is going on?" If there was an issue that bad, one that required the potential of ancient treaties being activated, Cloud had better find out details.

"It seemed to be made of demons and...." Nanaki paused, looking uncomfortable. "Grandfather thinks there are true demons in there as well." Which was a bad thing. True demons, like the twins mother, were rare, and required a lot of power to keep on this plane. Part of the protections the Cetra had put into place in order to keep from another war like the one they had just finished. So much work, and all of it being shattered rapidly.

Rubbing a hand over his face, Cloud nodded. "Anything else that you want to share, since I seem to be the person everyone feels like they have to come talk to?"

Nanaki just made an amused noise. "Again, the danger of being old. I have a few, but I suppose I should ask if you have any details."

"More than I sent out last time? Not really. Jenova is awake and active, that much I do know, but you should as well. Sephiroth had planted himself in the royal library. Zack is helping Yuffie with what the Families and Clans have collected. Which he bitched about. Chaos and Vincent have been talking to their father, and he's been looking for information for them. No more details so far, but we're hoping." Cloud ran his fingers through his hair. "Problem is that there just -isn't- many documents that old, and my memories are just too foggy to depend on for that time."

He tried to remember if there was anything else that he hadn't put into the information he had sent to the leaders of the various city-state and countries that he could access. Aside from the fact that Jenova had offered him a place at her side. They didn't need to know that, and it would cause major issues if other people besides his pack realized that he was related to the woman. "I think that's everything. Do you know who is leading them.?"

Nodding, Nanaki did something on his side of the magic, and an image appeared. Cloud looked at it, then stared. Hard. How....

Hearing the choking noise that Cloud made, Nanaki dropped that magic, and looked at him with concern. "Cloud?"

"That's not possible," managed the blond, eyes still huge and wide. It just wasn't possible. That sort of magic was impossible. Humans had been trying for years.

Or perhaps that was the issue. Humans. And Jenova was anything but human. She was an ancient being, old before she had even started the original war. Who knew what sort of magics she had access to. Still, it was mind boggling to contemplate, and he sat there for a long moment, frozen.

Nanaki's voice broke through his slightly distracted state, tone sharp. "Strife, what -is- it?"

"That's Yazoo," Cloud got out finally, voice sounding muffled. "The second child of Jenova." He turned those wide eyes on Nanaki. "He died. Thousands of years ago. He was -dead-. I remember the celebrations."

The other's face took on a very still look. "Cloud, I'm requesting the ancient treaty to be honored. If Jenova is back and has resurrected her sons, we need more than just the magic that we can muster to keep back the tide." A shift, because this was a major step. "I am going to activate the Bonding States."

The ancient treaty between the lands that had almost been destroyed by Jenova. Something so massive and powerful that no other treaty had ever come close. Put together by the Cetra, sworn to by all the rulers at the time.

That one, Cloud hadn't signed. But it was signed by the rulers of Midgar. The people who eventually became the Shinras."

It wasn't a bad idea. Cosmo Canyon set to the west of here, and was the last major settlement that one would hit before reaching the Deadlands. Cosmo Canyon on the east of said Deadlands, Nibelheim to the north. Ocean on the other two sides. Though that water was as dead as the land. But they were the first places any army would reach, and the first places that the old defenses would activate.

"I'll tell Rufus. You had better start contacting the other leaders."

If Jenova had brought her sons back from the dead, then she was preparing to march.

Nanaki nodded, and the light of the treaty went out. Cloud stood, thoughts preoccupied as he left the room, heading for his own. Needed better clothing than this. Vincent was there, and started at Cloud. "What's wrong?"

Without pausing, Cloud sighed. "I have to go tell the King that war has come again."

Cloud's step hitched. He remembered the last war. He remembered the years it took for recovery.

"We're going to have another Angels War. It's already started."

Perhaps he better remember how to pray.


End file.
